Party in the park will remember brave boy, help others celebrate loved ones

CELEBRATING 'THE LION:' Daniel, left, Kylar, middle, and Jacquentte Jaramillo are planning The Daniel "The Lion" Day celebration Aug. 31 in North Midway Park as an annual memorial for their son and brother, Daniel, and a celebration of life for any family struggling with a loss. (Mark Leffingwell / Boulder Daily Camera)

Despite his tough-guy name, Daniel "The Lion" Jaramillo was never a heavyweight champion or crime fighter.

He was, however, a very tough guy.

Daniel was born premature Aug. 31, 2012, and died after 14 months of struggling with lung problems. He earned the lion nickname when his father, also named Daniel, urged his son to be strong like a lion through his health challenges.

Although Daniel spent his short life in a hospital, he fought hard until the end. All the while, he brought his family closer together and helped them celebrate life.

To commemorate baby Daniel's birthday, the Jaramillo family plans to have a public celebration on Aug. 31 for anyone who has ever lost a child or family member.

The family hopes to make Daniel "The Lion" Day an annual memorial and celebration of life for any family struggling with a loss.

"We are struggling with this loss, and when it happened it was one of the worst times in our lives," Daniel Jaramillo said. "But through all this, we wanted people to know that good things can come out of bad experiences."

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Jacquenette Jaramillo, Daniel's mother, said the celebration in North Midway Park comes with no gimmicks and no fundraising goals — just fun, cotton candy, a bouncy castle and a balloon artist.

The family, who describes themselves as "huggers," also wants to pass around love, support and hugs to anyone who stops by.

"We just want people to come and celebrate and not feel like we're asking anything of them," she said.

Daniel 'The Lion' Jaramillo (Mark Leffingwell / Boulder Daily Camera)

The Aug. 31 birthday of their chubby-cheeked son will be a hard milestone for the couple, but the Jaramillos said they want to celebrate with smiles instead of tears.

They also want the party to be a fun time for their 6-year-old daughter, Kylar, who has endured the hardship of losing her brother at a young age.

"It can be so hard for the siblings. They go through so much, and the attention is not on them," Jacquenette Jaramillo said.

The Jaramillos said their daughter's teachers at Birch Elementary School have been extremely supportive of the family. Last year, Kylar started taking one of Daniel's outfits to school and pretending he was at school with her.

Instead of being teased, her classmates joined in by taking "Daniel" on the swings and down the slide during recess.

The Daniel "The Lion" Day celebration is a chance for kids, parents and loved ones to let loose and play in a joyful celebration of life.

It's also a time to thank caregivers and hospital employees, who often become like a second family during illnesses, Daniel Jaramillo said.

His son's health problems were so severe Daniel only left the hospital once during his short life, and only then, he left the hospital to be transferred to another one.

Though hospital life was all Daniel knew, the Jaramillos said the care teams at Children's Hospital and University of Colorado Hospital were filled with love and support as they helped the family understand surgeries, procedures and complicated equipment.

Some hospital staff gave the family meaningful gifts, such as a framed onesie from University Hospital, and the care team at Children's Hospital created a stone garden paver that said "The Lion's Garden."

A nonprofit called Beads of Courage also helped the family by sending them a small, multicolored bead for each procedure or medical experience Daniel went through. In his 14 months of life, he collected a rainbow string of beads that spans 49 feet.

The Daniel the Lion Day celebration is as much for the caregivers as it is for families, because caregivers become just as invested in the children they care for as the children's families, Jacquenette Jaramillo said.

"They really can become emotionally attached," she said.

The Jaramillo family said the death of their son has been a blow. Yet it has also inspired them to spread love to others who have gone through the same thing.

It has also strengthened her and her husband's love for each other, she said.

"In our 17 years together, we had some of our most romantic times as a couple while we were going through this horrible thing. It wasn't a candlelit dinner, but we became closer," she said.